Iron War - Official Thread

Iron War is now downloadable via TripleA.
This is my shot at a WW2 map. The map starts out in 1940, aims to have simple rules, be AI compatible, offer players a lot of options when it comes to playing the nations, and also be both singleplayer and multiplayer friendly. For example, it can be a challenge to just play a single Axis nation and have everyone else set to Fast/Hard AI. These are the players:

Map features:
• 10-sided dices
• Custom sounds and nation specific music.
• Around 25 different unit types (Not all players have access to all unit types)
• Special resources to purchase special units: Iron, Fuel, SS recruitment, Colonial recruitment, Soviet Officials and Kamikaze Pilots.
• Fuel resources to move land vehicle units and ships.
• No political changes during play (All Axis can attack all Allies from 1940)
• A timeline of events (unit unlocking + video ) that occur at the start of every half-year (round) from 1940 to 1947. By this time all unit types are in play, including nukes.)
• Many other map details can be learned by reading the map notes.

Testing focus:
• Starting setup (All players should end up having a good change to survive a few rounds. And yes, therefor some nations have unhistorical good starting conditions.)
• Unit prices and stats. (Everything should be worth buying if possible)
• Fuel accessibility (Most players should thirst for more fuel around round 3-4)
• Iron accessibility. (Most players should want more Iron)
• Anything else?

Changelog:
v0.1 released via TripleA under "Experimental".

v0.1 to v0.1.1:
• Fix: Kamikaze-Planes can now land on carriers.

v0.1.1 to v0.1.2:
• All British-Colonies, French-Colonies and KNIL territories are now “originalOwner” of AI-Neutral. This means that if taken by the enemy and thereafter liberated, ownership goes to the liberator. This is to further strengthen the six major allied powers.
• North and South (Belgian) Congo are now unprotected AI-Neutral, capturable for free by France in round 1.
• Removed the land connection between Denmark and Sweden.
• Removed 1 German Transport from North Sea Zone.
• West Germany PU value reduced from 40 to 30.
• UK/Canadian starting production raised from. 64 to 70 PUs.
• Hawaii PU value raised to 5.
• Iceland PU raised to 5.
• Morocco is now a 5 PU Pro-Axis-Neutral territory.
• Peru PUs raised to 5.
• Mexico City PUs raised to 5.
• Sierra Leone renamed to Liberia and is now a 5 PU USA territory.
• Visayas renamed to Philippines and is now a 5 PU USA territory.
• A lot of minor changes.
• New timeline and events. See description in the notes.
• Added one new movie for round two.

v0.1.2 to v0.1.3:
• Added a “Map Option” to practically transfer the Balkan states to the German player from round 1.
• Siberia PU raised from 5 to 10.
• Irkutsk PU raised from 1 to 5.
• Irkutsk now has a Factory and 10 units.
• Removed 1 German transport from North Sea Zone
• Removed 15 infantry units from Germany
• Removed 5 infantry from Moscow
• Removed 3 infantry from Finland.
• A few more minor changes to start setup.

v0.1.3 to v0.1.4:
• Western New Guinea no longer has a KNIL factory.
• Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea is now 2 PU territories, not 5 and 3.
• Darwin is now a 3 PU territory, not 2.
• Colonial-Infantry cost lowered from 7 to 6 PUs.
• Jet-Fighter cost raised from 19 to 20 PUs.
• All start of round videos are now followed by famous WW2 quotes underneath.
• Removed the free German factory in Romania that is placed if Germany plays with the Balkans as German. Also lowered the Balkan territories PU value if they become German.
• Some other minor changes, including a more guarded Italy from start.

v0.1.5 to v0.1.6:
• Balkan states no longer have music and end of turn sounds (so these sounds will not play for the German player if the game is started with the option “Balkan states are German” while also starting the game with the Balkan states as that same human player. This lead to five unwanted music tracks being played simultaneously after German every player turn).
• Marines are now A2/D3 like Infantry, not A4/2D (still has amphibious +1A bonus)
• Transport is now 0A/1D, not 1A/1D.
• Added German, Italian and Japanese user actions to support each other with PUs.
• Added British user actions to support British-India and ANZAC with PUs.
• Added USA, Iraqi and Iranian possibility to support allies with Fuel. (AI compatible system)
• More fuel availability adjustments.
• Some other minor alterations.

v0.1.6 to v0.1.7:
• VC moved from Egypt to Somalia.
• Removed the Map Option “Balkan states are German”.
• Added player “Balkan” and removed the small Balkan players from the game. (They will return in Iron War: Europe!)
• Changed the colors of some nations
• Changed the order of play to have player turns be clustered in 3 axis and 3 allied phases.
• Some other minor changes and start setup.

v0.1.7 to v0.1.8:
• Submarines now require 2 steel to build, not 1.
• V1-Rocket attack lowered to 1(Still has 1-2 strategic bombing damage)
• V2-Rocket attack lowered to 2 (Still has 1-3 strategic bombing damage)
• KNIL now have new flags and markers, so they don’t look like South Africa.
• The concept of minor nations is no more. Now all players should be worth playing.
• Egypt is now controlled by British-Colonies, even though it might be hard to survive more than 3 rounds (unless British send a lot of Aid).
• VC moved from Iraq to Egypt.
• Some nation color changes.
• Some other starting unit placement changes.

v0.1.8 to v0.1.9:
• Removed USAs, Iraq’s and Iran’s “Fuel unit” purchase and support system.
• Implemented Fuel as an upkeep resource. (All Ships and Land vehicles now need fuel)
• Made it so all nations always have at least 1 Fuel to spend, so nations can not end up in a “locked” situation where all Fuel is used by land units and therefore makes it impossible to build a Transport to attack overseas.
• Strait of Malacca added to the map and is controlled by Malaya.
• Almost half of all convoy zones are now 10 PU territories instead of 5 PU.
• Many ship prices changed.
• Fighters, Dive-Bombers and Jet-Fighters cost 2 PUs more.
• All pictures of units, flag, resources etc. have been slightly outlined with more black border.
• ANZAC now has turn before KNIL.
• Added nation unique music for British-India.
• New USSR infantry unit picture.
• Added a new USSR unit, the Commissar. This unit can give 3 USSR infantry +1 attack and +1 defense. A new special resource called “Officials” is needed to create a Commissar.

v0.1.9 to v0.2.0:
• There are now 30 VC and holding 20 is a win condition.
• Smaller nations now have approximately 5 PUs more territory values from start, to make them more playable.
• Economical win is now at 650 PUs, not 600.
• Added 1 more USSR Commissariat to the map. This makes 4, and 5 is needed to make a Commissar every round.
• China now has a factory in the capital of Chungking, to make China able to hold ground against Japan.
• China can now build Fighters from start, and also start with 1 Fighter.
• China is now after USA turn, as USA can support China financially.
• The AI prefix of the neutral players is removed (Currently players should remember to set them as AI)
• USA Heavy-Tank unit picture made a bit smaller.
• SS Troops and Panzer now give Commissars -1 att./def, like all other units receives -1.
• SS Panzer now cost 25 SS, not 20.
• Tank-Destroyer lowered 1 PU in cost.
• The Anti-Air gun can now move during combat and is much cheaper. (But currently a bug prevents it from being useful in attack as it only shoots in the first round).
• Changed the start unit setup and economical conditions a bit.

v0.2.0 to v0.2.1:
• Iron War is no longer labeled as BETA.
• The Commissar is no longer artillery supportable.
• Liberia is changed back to (British) Sierra Leone and PU value is lowered from 5 to 2.
• Unit width in map.properties now set to 60 instead of 54 to make it easier to click units.
• AA unit now has new stats.
• New map startup sound has replaced the longer music intro.
• Added new hidden steps in between all players start of turns, to ensure that the music of every player nation is played at start of their turn, even if a human controls two nation that has turn right after each other. Previously only the first nation would have its music played.
• AI controlled players are now hidden at game setup menu.

v0.2.1 to v0.2.2:
• Trondheim-Narvik is now a 1 PU territory, not 2.
• Norway is now a 5 PU territory, not 3.
• Norway is now True-Neutral.
• Norway is now a VC and Irkutsk is no longer a VC.
• Removed 1 British Patrol-Boat from Celtic Sea.
• Removed 1 British Oil-Barrel from Egypt.
• Added 1 German Fighter to West Germany.
• Replaced 1 French Battleship with 1 French Destroyer in Bay of Biscay.
• Change the unit start setup at the USSR-Japan border.

v0.2.2 to v0.2.3:
• Corrected a typing error in the notes (Kamikaze pilots are obtainable from round 9, not round 6).
• Fixed a graphical error that could occur when South Africa captured a convoy zone.
• British Colonies Colonial-Infantry now looks different and is now more distinguishable from the normal British Colonies Infantry.
• Tank-Destroyers are now listed in purchase screen before the Light, Medium and Heavy Tanks, not after.
• The Anti-Air unit now costs 8 PUs, not 7.
• Japan now gets 1 Kamikaze recruitment poster in round 9, 10 and 11, not only 1 in round 9. This means that Japan can recruit 3 pilots per round from round 11 / early 1945.
• Aklavik (in North West Canada) renamed to Fort Norman
• The map uses the resource option “isDisplayedFor” to keep nation specific resources only visible to certain players.
• Fuel system has been changed. Now ships and land vehicles use 1 fuel to move one territory, and planes pay half of their full potential movement in fuel when moved.
• Other minor changes.

v0.2.3 to v0.2.4:
• The Anti-Air unit now costs 9 PUs, not 8.
• Added some more Fuel barrels on the map.
• Romania is now a 20 PU territory, not 10 PU.
• Italy is now a 40 PU territory, not 50 PU.
• Siberia is now a 10 PU territory, not 5 PU.
• Brazil is now a 10 PU territory, not 5 PU.
• Start setup changes.

v0.2.4 to v0.2.5:
• USSR Siberia 10 to 15 PUs
• Added more fuel barrels controlled by USA, Iraq and Iran.
• Added ability for several nations to transfer fuel to other nations.
• Added “Submarine-Pen” to the 3 major Axis powers to strengthen Axis at Sea. They give 1 Free Submarine per turn.
• Other minor changes.

v0.2.6 to v0.2.7:
• Airfields no longer give +1 move to aircraft.
• "Units Can Load In Hostile Sea Zones" is now "true".
• Hebrides no longer has a land connection to Scotland.
• Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie are now impassible land territories, so naval placements in these territories are no longer possible. (This does not affect air moves as there was never any tactical advantage in flying over them anyway.)
• Darwin is now a 5 PUs territory, not 2. (Factory placement is now possible here.)
• Melbourne is now a 3 PUs territory, not 5.
• North Queensland is now a 2 PUs territory, not 3.

v0.2.7 to v0.2.8:
• 3 USSR Infantry units starting out in Siberia have been moved 1 territory away, in three directions, so that they cannot be used to “rush” Iran.
• Territory name change from “Saskatchewan” to “Winnipeg”.
• Territory name change from “Wabakimi” to “Port Arthur”.
• Territory name change from “Victoria” to ”Vancouver”.
• Changed minimap look (smaller units, brighter territories and brighter viewer).
• ANZAC Fuel barrels in Sydney changed from 3 to 2.
• ANZAC Fuel barrels in South Queensland changed from 2 to 1.
• ANZAC Fuel barrels in Peru changed from 2 to 1.
• USA Fuel barrels in Colombia changed from 5 to 3
• USA Fuel barrels in Venezuela changed from 15 to 7
• Italy Fuel barrels in Italy changed from 3 to 5.
• German Fuel barrels in Romania changed from 15 to 12
(Total fuel change: Allies -13 and Axis -1)

I have downloaded the map, but getting an error message:
triplea.engine.version.bin:1.9
games.strategy.engine.framework.startup.launcher.MapNotFoundException
at games.strategy.triplea.ResourceLoader.getMapResourceLoader(ResourceLoader.java:57)
at games.strategy.util.LocalizeHTML.localizeImgLinksInHTML(LocalizeHTML.java:87)

@Swampy - I think there were some problems with the download that was caused by mismatching names and stuff. NOW the map seems to be both downloadable and working. I already did a small fix. The kamikaze planes can now land on carriers.

PS: Maybe you actually have to go to your map folder and delete the “iron War BETA” zip and properties file you downloaded, and then redownload the map. (Probably in the directory C:\Users\YOURNAME\triplea\downloadedMaps )
The new working and updated map is called v2 in the download screen and v0.1.1 in the map selection window.

Side note. I was playing tribes vs A.I the other day and I noticed that stalemates seem to be glitching. When ever a defender loses to the stalemated attacking army, the unit dies as per normal but the territory doesn't become owned by the attacker. I have to move a unit in on the attackers following turn to take ownership. This then frees the remaining army to be allowed to move the same turn. This never used to occur with the old one. Is this an update and what you had originally intended? Or a glitch?0_1491050543008_aot glitch brits2.tsvg

@Cernel Idid not think of Kamikaze planes needing to land either, but as I played Iron War as Japan the other day, I wanted to fly my Kamikaze unit from Japan to my fleet and attack with it the next round, but the unit could not land on my carrier, and that was a bit lame. I think it is OK to have Kamikaze units able to land on carriers as they also may land on land.

@prastle I think that I have seen this happen a few times. Some times territory ownership seems to be affected by battles not ending in the first battle. Perhaps it has something to do with the map xml having a battle round limit? Or is it something that relates to (some) territories still having "original owners"? Or a mix of circumstances? I don't know, but I will look at the save and write an "issue" if needed and try to find out whats wrong.

@prastle Come to think about it, I think I on purpose changes the "territories may be taken over immediately" to false in the last Age of Tribes update, as this was the only way to prevent a game killing java error that sometimes occurred when air units attacked sea territories with ownerships/trade centers. When I change this xml setting, the error does not occur. Do you think that this could be the cause of your experience? Maybe with this new setting, the game would NOT hand over ownership, after a stalemate, that would lead to the defender fighting you a second time in his own turn and losing. You should probably stand or walk into the territory in your own turn to get the territory handed over. With the previous setting "territories maybe be handed over immediately" true, players could probably get ownership at any time. This would be optimal, but not if this also leads to game breakdowns.

@prastle Can't you just edit and change ownership of territories during play when you think it would be needed?
I think the approach to fixing this unfortunate update and rules could be me making an "issue" post containing an Age of Tribes error-making xml and save that points out the original problem; that being that errors occur when air units attack a sea territory with ownership, and when "territory ownership is handed over immediately" is true. At least that is how I understand the problem.

@Frostion if you have a save of your original air problem with the original xml. I overwrote mine with the update. Yes multiple ways of fixing by edit are available i just found it neat that i could use an extra troop. No worries.

This should really be a flagship game for tripleA. Its easily the best thing I've seen in a long ass time. Excellent work!

Even the opening reel from the very start, really reminded me of one of the cool elements from the old cd, when they'd do those little news clip images at the close of each round.

Showcases what is possible in tripleA for a WW2 setting, on a map with a very large scale. I don't think the extra phases are really all that crazy. And the political system seems more intuitive than say G40, so there's more room to think about other rules. D10 is easy enough to adopt when playing digitally like this. The supply concept is pretty quick to grasp. The unit roster is gloriously detailed. Map still looks clean at 75% and 50% (I still wish there was quick tab or hotkey that would scale the map to those values automatically with a single click somewhere front and center. I always seem to cycle between those too on the larger maps. Also just discovered the rule book, very nice.) TripleA is truly glorious lately.

One thing that I think it might be nice to have though, would be a game like this, but at much smaller scale. I mean a game that uses the same combat/production mechanics and basic unit roster (same unit graphics and UI organization etc), but aimed as an introduction for the larger more elaborate Iron War game. I'm pretty comfortable with G40 and the other WW2 style games for tripleA, but this one is a major leap with a lot going on.

I can imagine people taking one look at this and saying "oh shit! Lets cannibalize it and use all these dope graphics!" probably for some simplified A&A clone that doesn't even come close in ambition or scale. Maybe it would be better to get ahead of that? Like just create an Iron War "light" or a starter set, where the transition from say Revised or v3 or v5 or would be a little easier to handle? Something that creates more familiarity, even just on a visual level with units using the national roundel rather than national colors or D10 combat, but also for learning the resource and movement system, all the associated icons, or for units the basic values/abilities/pricing, things of that sort scaled down, as way to ease it in. Maybe doing it on a theater level? Like Europe with heavy Barbarossa focus, Lend lease to Russia, G trying grab the ore and black gold where it can? Just from like the Baltic to the Black Sea/Caucasus with a narrower field of play? I don't know exactly, but a smaller scale game that uses the exact same mechanics that this larger one does. So the the one can lead into the other naturally, the way v5 is supposed to lead to 1940, but using the Iron War system instead of A&A.

I mean when we have something this cool as an original work, I can't see any real reason to keep looking back at A&A for guidence. Not when the resource system presented here solves so many intractible issues present in A&A since forever ago. We could just rep this one as the gold standard going forward, for WW2 on tripleA.

That said TripleA still needs a solid original (but simple) WW2 game, that is easy to pick up and play in one session. A small map, for 5-6 player nations ala Classic, or even just a 1v1 easy to grasp and really accessible, but one that looks clean as hell like this one does. Clearly Iron War will more than satisfy any player who wants a game like HBGs Global War 36/9, or A&A Global 1940 taken to its logical extreme. But what would really seal the deal, is if there was a version of this that could do the same for players coming at it from a board more like Classic or 1942 second edition, where people could be introduced to the whole concept of resources and D10 on a map that more closely mirrors the scale of those boards. That's the only suggestion I have at the moment, otherwise it's just kicking ass and taking names all over the place. Beautifully done!

ps. the soundwork is killer! I keep grinning through the turns. Even if I forget to move Italians in Ethiopia because I'm so entranced haha.

Also this is the first tripleA map I've played where even single player vs fastAI feels really enjoyable, because there's just so much more to do. Like a total war stomp fest, where you can beef up one of the minor powers for kicks. It has all the same appeal as a world domination CA TW type game, but its better, since you can actually see and understand exactly why everything is happening. All the stats and mechanics are out in the open.

I just played my first run through past 1945. Germany and Italy are crushing (Moscow and Africa are ours for the moment) but Japan is stalled up on the water. Just bought a carrier only to watch the Americans send it to the bottom of the sea! I kept it going until 1948. Part of me thinks it might be more fun for SP to push these dates out a bit. It felt like I could have just as easily imagined it was still 1942 or 43 by the time the 10th round arrived, were it not for the reel telling me the war should have been over a few years ago by now haha.

This is the best handling of China on WW2 map I've seen. I love the choke point at the center.

I wonder about Canada, whether it might be cooler to call the British player "British-Canadians", or something like that? Since the rest of the Commonwealth is given it's own representation (with all the little flags and such), seems like it might be a bitter pill to swallow for the gang up north, who having been griping for a while that Canada never makes it into these games. Even if it needs to be attached to UK for the map to work as intended, maybe a nod in the name would be enough? Haha

@Hepps Yeah their absence is a little conspicuous, what with Britain, British-Colonies, South Africa, British India and Anzac all getting their own turn+flags+units.

Maybe just bump up the British home islands so England, Scotland etc are worth more? Newfoundland and Labrador could help pick up some of the slack for income and resources. Or some of the smaller territories like Jamaica could maybe be worth a tiny bit more.

Another simple solution might be to add the British-Colonies to the British directly. As a way to offset the inclusion of Canada as a separate power, while still maintaining some substance to the British turn. I think that could be fun, since right now the British do feel pretty stretched relative to the Italians in Africa. I don't know that the British-Colonies would really be missed, with so many other Dominions getting their own slot in the sequence.

I'm currently playing my second game as Allies. I had to restart after the first few turns. Unlike the Axis (where I let the FastAI handle everyone but Germany, Italy and Japan) it feels a lot more important to take direct control of the minor powers as the Allies to get anything serious going, so that's what I did when restarting. Still feels like the British could use a bit more to stay relevant. Especially in Africa and the Med. I've been sending them max aid each turn, and it's pretty tough to make a breakthrough, since G smokes their Atlantic fleet right out the gate. Oil hasn't been a problem yet, since I don't have anything to move haha. But I'm hungry for Steel! Been building up the RAF, until more arrives.

Noticed something in this latest game as Allies. Not sure if its helpful, but seems that the South African territories are going over to the French when they take them from Italy. Most of Africa turning blue...

So far Allies seem to be holding their own, but I'm having some trouble pulling together a proper Trans-Atlantic invasion force. The main issue I ran into was the inability to grab a production center for the Americans closer to Europe. I guess next time I'll make a b-line for Libya, since it seems to the only sensible spot to drop a first factory. I make the mistake of trying to get something going in Normandy, but with it going back to the French I got a bit stuck. Similar kind of situation with the UK. I guess I should have brought up more out of ground fodder out of Halifax early on, because by the time I need them I think it's probably too late. Not having a build option out of Scotland keeps it pretty tight. I should have starting ferrying sooner I guess, and doing the same on the other side of the board with Australia. By the time I realized there's no real lilly pad for a production build, I was too far behind. Russia is beginning to fold up a bit, as the Italians and Japanese keep chipping away. I got backdoored a bit on account of Mongolia and a surprisingly belligerent Shah hehe. Should have dealt with him right away. German's are about to unlock the Nukes, so it's probably time I wind down for the night.

Good times though!

ps. Got in another 6 rounds with a new game. This time the Allies seem to be doing a bit better. Or at least, the expeditionary force is ready to roll. This time we put Perisa to bed with a quickness. But the Italians invaded across the water, and the Shah is back! Now Stalin is staring over the brink.... Those German's moved fast!!!

Here it is on USA5, when we finally established a foothold in North Africa... That felt pretty damn sweet

Did I mention how much I dig the soundwork haha. The Soviets are taking inspiration from Red October, or any hymn to calm the nerves. Save mother Russia! Hopefully it doesn't all collapse before we make 1945.

I think you could probably get away with two rounds per year instead of one, (like just showing the date clip twice if necessary), and it'd feel just about right to me for what I can accomplish in WW2 campaign terms during the time allotted. Something tells me taking down Germany in 7 rounds is way beyond my pay grade heheh. But maybe in 14 I could pull it off?

Also, here is something else I came across that is maybe just the interface glitching out on me because there are so many different unit types involved? When I go to make a suicide attack vs the Germans with my entire Russian Moscow force, the battle window gets all wigged out, and it won't show the dice unless I maximize it. If I don't maximize it won't show the casualty prompt, because it's like off screen. Not sure what's up, but figured I'd let you know, since it took me a sec to figure out what was going on...0_1492225536996_39 Iron War battle bug.tsvg